Promote energy efficiency and renewables to citizens, companies and organizations
in the community.

Q: Is there a timeframe for reductions? Are there
reporting requirements?

A: We ask that participants make a good faith effort to reduce energy use
intensity (energy use per square foot). The timeframe for 10% reductions
is completely up to participants. There are no reporting requirements as
part of the program, but we hope that you'll keep us updated with your
successes, and let us know when you meet your goals.

Q: What does the EPA provide?

A: EPA offers:

Free Training and technical assistance

Targeted training and technical support in the use of the ENERGY STAR
Portfolio Manager benchmarking software. Assessing performance is the first
step toward identifying opportunities to improve energy efficiency through
better facility management, upgrades to lighting, HVAC, controls, and other
building systems and equipment.

Assistance in efforts to increase the use of renewable energy, through
renewable energy credits and the development of small scale renewable energy
projects.

EPA New England and EPA ENERGY STAR contractors will provide free, live
web-based training in benchmarking and energy management, including follow
up technical support, to all participating communities.

Recognition

EPA New England will recognize community achievements under the Challenge
and track overall progress.

Participating municipalities may be eligible for national EPA recognition:

ENERGY STAR Leaders – for a demonstrated average reduction of
10% or more across all buildings.

ENERGY STAR Label – awarded to buildings performing in the top
25% according to the National Energy Performance Rating System.

EPA New England will organize additional recognition activities, including,
but not limited to: media events to highlight progress; case studies posted
on the web; and articles in general and trade publications.

EPA will encourage members of our extensive partner network, notably
regional utilities, and energy service and product providers, to help Challenge
participants implement their energy efficiency plans.

Q: Does the EPA provide funding?

A: No. We do, however, work with organizations – including
utilities – that offer free services and, in some cases, grants for
renewable energy projects. In addition, we encourage you to use the
Cash Flow Opportunity Calculator, which will enable you to determine
the cost of waiting on your improvements. Finally, we find that municipalities
in New England are taking advantage of performance contracting to help
with efficiency improvements. More information is here.

A: Participating communities select the timeframe within
which to meet their 10% goals. We hope that you
choose a timeframe that makes sense for your community. This is an internal
target date for your community, not one that is made publicly. There are
no penalties for missing your initial target date, and we hope you'll
keep trying to meet your reductions goal.

Q: What are the costs associated with reducing energy use?

A: As you might guess, this varies dramatically from community
to community. The measures can range from simple, lower-cost steps like a
progressive, staggered lighting change-out to a more capital-intensive heating
and cooling system upgrade.

A good place to learn about energy efficiency measures and how to calculate
costs is The
Building Manual,
published by ENERGY STAR.

We also recommend that communities use the Cash
Flow Opportunity Calculator to explore
the cost of waiting to implement energy efficiency upgrades and improved
management practices.

Q: We've already had a utility audit. How is this different?

A: An audit conducted by utilities is a great step. However,
benchmarking provides information about energy use, cost and greenhouse gas
emissions trends over time. You also get a rating for your buildings, which
gives a sense of how well each building is performing compared to national
averages. In addition, you can track the effect of different energy efficiency
measures as well.

Q: Who uses Portfolio Manager?

A: Portfolio Manager is used by a range of organizations,
from school districts to multinational corporations. Case studies are online
at www.energystar.gov.

Q: Is this Challenge complementary to other environmental programs?

A: Yes. We're working with organizations like ICLEI,
which coordinates the Cities for Climate Protection Agreement. The Community
Energy Challenge provides concrete tools for taking control of energy use.
In addition, the US Conference of Mayors.
which encourages mayors across the nation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
also supports the ENERGY STAR Challenge for municipalities.

Q: How is Portfolio Manager useful?

A: Portfolio Manager is a free tool found at the ENERGY
STAR Web site [www.energystar.gov]. It allows users to track energy use intensity,
greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs over time. Importantly, it also
gives ratings to buildings, allowing users to compare building performance
to national data collected by the Department of Energy's Commercial
Building Energy Consumption Survey.

Portfolio Manager users can:

Establish an energy use baseline for buildings, making it easy to track
improvements in efficiency over time.

Uniformly compare progress across communities.

Achieve national recognition from EPA.

Track further progress in improving energy efficiency in buildings that
have been benchmarked, making possible further energy and financial savings.

Meet other environmental goals, such as a reduction in local air pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions.

Q: Why should municipalities improve energy efficiency and
expand use of renewables?

A: Reducing energy
use intensity and supporting clean energy benefits cities and towns
in a number of ways:

SAVES MONEY -- New England has among the highest energy costs
in the nation.

New England's 1500 cities, towns and associated school districts
together spend nearly one billion dollars every year on energy for buildings.

Our 4500 public K-12 schools spend more than $500 million on energy – more
than on textbooks and computers combined.

CUTS POLLUTION -- Energy use is the number one source of
air pollution in New England and the nation.

Electricity generation alone emits 48% of SO2 and 8% of NOx emissions
in New England.

ACCESSIBLE AND ACHIEVABLE -- Every community has opportunities
to improve energy efficiency and increase use of renewables cost-effectively today.

Numerous national studies agree that, on average, 30% of the energy
used in commercial, institutional and public buildings is wasted.

Savings of 10% or more are well within the reach of every community
and school district through sensible management changes and cost-effective
upgrades using proven, existing technologies.

A 10% reduction across New England's municipal and school buildings
could save up to $100 million, prevent billions of pounds of carbon dioxide
emissions, and save enough energy to power tens of thousands of homes
for one year.